Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Seasons Round Exchange

I just participated in my first ever blog-craft-exchange. I first read about the Seasons Round Exchange on Emma Bradshaw's blog and was instantly enamored with the idea of making/finding a few small items to adorn someone else's nature or seasonal table. I really had a ridiculous amount of fun coming up with and creating little treats that met the winter theme of "light"---so much so that I was almost finished before I was even assigned a partner (yes I'm easily amused).

Here's what I sent:

An art card by local artist Helen Stevens (I adore this picture of the little girl peaking into the treasure chest), in a card stand made with cherry twigs held together with sparkly gold twine. A soft tree made with some of my favorite KaffeFasset fabric, that I think is supposed to be flowers, but looks like twinkly lights to me. A star-shaped beeswax candle (it took me three tries to create one that looked decent, and I'm afraid it might not burn that well; does anyone know if beeswax candles require thicker wicks than paraffin?). A tiny Saint Lucia (no religious significance intended; I also didn't realize that she has seven candles in her crown...not four). And a little papiermache bowl made with some tissue paper flecked with gold tinsel and filled with bits of the Maine woods.

My exchange partner was Kendra from the blog Crafty Me. Here's what she sent me:

An adorable knitted Santa gnome and a lovely spiral beeswax candle.

Two little ornaments; a knitted lantern and a mistletoe made from felted sweaters (when I saw that making things from felted sweaters was a speciality of Kendra's I secretly hoped she would send something sweaterish; this little ornament is more wonderful than I could have imagined).

This beautiful rainbow-maker made of twigs, some blue light-as-air yarn in a six-pointed star (which made a nice addition to our Hanukkah festivities--such as they were--Saturday) and tiny crystals hanging down to catch the light (how did she know I love hanging crystals in my windows?).

It all came packaged with boughs of greenery and a big hank of lovely white wool roving which I can't wait to make into something (some Christmas tree gnomes are in order, I think).

E and Z had a lot of fun playing in the greenery with various little holiday characters.

ohmygosh i am just now seeing this! i have been so behind!!! thanks, andrea! your choices were obviously made with a lot of thought and light! the lantern is actually for the gnome... i was going to sew it on, but i thought it might be more fun to play with if it was loose - now he can go exploring for stones. and the woolly mistletoe also must be in a doorway - for kissing! i thought this way it fits into another meaning of light - levity!